NUTRITIONAL CURE FOR BOTULISM

This type of food poisoning, caused by highly toxic botulinus bacteria, can be very dangerous, and even fatal. Spores of the bacteria are extremely resistant to heat: boiling at 212° Fahrenheit (100° centigrade) requires six hours to destroy them, but only fifteen minutes at 250° Fahrenheit (120° centigrade).

The bacteria is not found in fresh vegetables or fruit, or in fresh cooked meat. Foods that may contain botulinus bacteria include:

– improperly smoked or salted ham;

– processed meats that have been exposed to air for too long;

– dead seafood that has been left exposed to the sun;

– insufficiently cooked canned beans, beets, asparagus, etc.

There is not much fever. Initial symptoms include gastric pains which become increasingly intense, sometimes accompanied by vomiting. These symptoms take at least a day, and sometimes two or three days to appear. They are soon followed by:

– vision problems, with paralysis of accommodation (focusing on objects at various distances);

– extreme dryness of the tongue and nasal passages;

– paralysis of the soft palate and pharynx;

– increasing muscular weakness;

– urine retention, etc.

If you experience one or a combination of these symptoms, consult a doctor immediately.

To prevent botulism do not conserve meat or any of the following types of foods after they have been cooked (especially in fat): potatoes, carrots, onions, beetroot, fennel, parsnip, turnip.